Fashion Industry Definitions

Developing your brand can be hard enough without all of the fashion industry jargon that comes with it. In this blog post we have set out to help you with a few of the most common words used within the industry so you can feel ON TOP of your game!

Bespoke

A made-to-order garment, tailored specifically to the customer’s measurements and specifications. 

Bias/Bias Cut

Bias is the diagonal direction of a woven fabric. Designers can take advantage of this stretch by manipulating the fabric so that the bias areas fall in ways that cause the designs to fit the body more closely or drape into soft folds.

Block

A basic pattern that is used as a foundation to develop other styles.

Example: You would have different blocks for tops, dresses and bottoms, but there may be crossover for some measurements to ensure consistent fit across styles.

Colour Matching

The process in which your printer colour matches to a required ‘pantone’ colour or swatch you provide to achieve a specific result.

Colour Standard

The exact color that you’ve picked for your design that’s used as a benchmark (standard) for all production.

Colourway

A product in a specific color.

Dart

V-shaped tuck that is sewn into a garment in order to shape the fabric so that the garment fits the rounded parts of the body. Darts are most often found at the bustline, the back shoulder, the waistline, and the hipline.

Fit Model

A person who maintains their physical size and tries on product to make sure it fits well. They are typically not “standard” runway model size, but rather the size of your customer.

Grading/Graded

The difference in measurements as sizes go up or down.

Example: If body length of a size M shirt is 27” and a size L is 28”, the body length grades 1” between sizes.

Gusset

Small piece of fabric, which is diamond-shaped, that is sewn into the underarm of a sleeve or into the crotch of pants. These areas often fit tightly and are subject to stress. The gusset provides additional width and stretch. 

Look Book

A collection of photographs compiled by a designer to present their complete collection for buyers and the press. 

Pantone

A system for matching colours, used in specifying printing inks.

Seam

In sewing, the place where two pieces of fabric are joined. This creates a more or less visible line on the surface of a garment. 

Selvedge

Edge of the fabric.

Strike Off

Printed artwork that your printer submits for your approval before going ahead with production.

Tech Pack

The instruction manual to create your product (like a set of blueprints). At minimum, it includes:

Tech sketches

A BOM

A graded spec

Colorway specs

Artwork specs (if relevant)

A spot for proto / fit / sales sample comments